Front Public Health. 2026 Jun 30;14:1878399. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1878399. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To explore the association between household coal use duration and upper gastrointestinal cancer and precancerous lesions.
METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional study. The research subjects were selected from those in Lucheng District and Pingshun County of Shanxi Province who participated in the upper gastrointestinal cancer screening and had complete data. The demographic characteristics, disease history, lifestyle, and household coal usage were collected through standardized questionnaires. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the association between the duration of household coal usage and upper gastrointestinal cancer and precancerous lesions. Subgroup analysis was conducted based on age, gender, region, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. Sensitivity analysis was used to verify the robustness of the results.
RESULTS: A total of 55,820 participants were included, including 783 cases with upper gastrointestinal cancer and precancerous lesions and 55,037 controls. After adjustment for potential confounders, a positive association was observed between the duration of household coal use and upper gastrointestinal cancer and precancerous lesions (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.05-1.24, P = 0.003). Stratified analyses showed statistically significant associations among women, individuals aged ≥65 years, non-smokers, non-drinkers, and residents of Pingshun County. Nevertheless, interaction tests were not statistically significant across all subgroup variables (all P for interaction > 0.05), indicating no evidence of effect modification. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated the stability and robustness of the observed association.
CONCLUSIONS: A positive association was observed between the duration of household coal use and upper gastrointestinal cancer and precancerous lesions. Given the cross-sectional nature of this study, causal inferences cannot be established. Prospective studies are warranted to further validate these findings.
PMID:42454305 | PMC:PMC13365028 | DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1878399
